Leeds United and Adidas have done a good job of threading Leeds United’s history through the replica kits over recent seasons. The Championship winning all yellow shirt with the smiley badge, evoking the Revie era. Last season's blue and yellow, a nod to Mark Viduka and Champions League nights and this season's away shirt, a tribute to the Wilkinson years, a reminder of the last time Leeds United were champions of England. Each one a love letter to what this club has been. Each one was received well by the club's supporters in the way it was intended.
But now comes this seasons home shirt. White, with blue and yellow pinstripes running horizontally across the body. It is an ok looking shirt I suppose, not my cup of tea, but the colour palette is right, the detailing is sharp enough, and the Leeds badge remains on the chest where it belongs. But pinstripes and Leeds United carry history, and it is not the kind of history the club's kit designers may have paused to consider.
Between 1981 and 1984, Leeds wore blue and yellow pinstripes. The first season they pulled them on, 1981-1982, they were relegated after 25 years in the top flight. Twelve of those spent at the very summit of the English game under Don Revie. Leeds United found themselves in the second tier for the first time in a generation. The pinstripes went with them.
Fast forward to 2005-2006, and Leeds were in the second tier again, fighting for a way back to the top-flight where the club belongs, wearing pinstripes once more. They made the Championship play-off final where they faced Watford at Cardiff. And they lost. Another pinstriped regret. Another chapter added to a story Leeds fans would rather forgetm one that would last 16 years.
Now, you might say this season's shirt does not feature traditional pinstripes at all. They run horizontally, not vertically, making them closer to hoops than stripes in the strictest sense. That is a fair observation I suppose, but it changes nothing. As far as I’m concerned, they are pinstripes. Leeds have worn pinstripes twice in living memory and the results were a relegation, years of stagnation in the second tier, and play-off heartbreak. Their record speaks for itself.
Perhaps Adidas did their research and found these shirts amongst our historic back catalogue. Perhaps they thought the pattern was another twist on our historic identity. It is I suppose, but did they check what happened while we wore pinstripes? Did anyone pause and ask whether this was a look worth revisiting?
We head into 2026-2027, our second season back in the Premier League under Daniel Farke with survival yet again the priority. The squad found its feet at the top level last season, but this coming season will be a challenge, every point will matter. The last thing any Leeds supporter needs is to be watching from the stands as the team run around in a shirt that has historically carried a curse.
Maybe this is the year we break it. Daniel Farke has spoken often about leaving the baggage behind, about not letting the weight of past failures define what this group of players can achieve. He is right. The pinstripe record is a curiosity, a piece of folklore but it does not have to be our destiny. Perhaps it is time to stop looking over our shoulders at what those stripes have meant in the past, and start focusing on what they can mean now, it may be a kit to remember for good not bad.
The 2026-2027 home shirt is available from 8am on Tuesday 28th July online via shop.leedsunited.com as well as in all Leeds United retail stores and selected JD stores.
